Meta shares dipped after a disappointing Q2 revenue outlook and plans to spend nearly $100 billion this year as it aims to “invest aggressively” in its AI products.

Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has maintained its bitcoin holdings. The company’s Q1 balance sheet shows net digital assets of $184 million. According to crypto analytics firm Arkham, Tesla continues to hold onto its 11,509 bitcoins, which have a market value of over $745 million. Tesla Holding Onto Its Bitcoin Elon Musk’s electric car […]

Bitwise Chief Information Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan recently shared five interesting predictions for the next Halving of the Bitcoin (BTC) network, scheduled for 2028. In a comprehensive report, Hougan sheds light on the potential transformations for the world’s leading cryptocurrency. New Investors And ETFs As Catalysts One of Hougan’s key predictions is that Bitcoin’s volatility will significantly decline by 50%. He argues that the entry of new investors through the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market will drive this decline.  Hougan said that as financial advisors, family offices, and institutions enter the Bitcoin market, their different investment behaviors – such as portfolio rebalancing and steady drip investments – could introduce counter-cyclical flows, ultimately dampening Bitcoin’s volatility. Related Reading: Brace For Impact: Worldcoin Team Plans To Sell 1.5 Million WLD Tokens Every Week For 6 Months Hougan’s second prediction revolves around the allocation of Bitcoin in portfolios. He believes that 5% allocations to Bitcoin will become commonplace in target-date portfolios. As BTC’s volatility decreases and becomes more attractive to institutional investors, Hougan expects a rise in typical portfolio allocations.  The Bitwise CIO predicts that Bitcoin ETFs will attract over $200 billion in inflows. He highlights their impressive growth and cites their status as the fastest-growing new ETF category of all time.  Hougan suggests that the ETF market is still in its early stages, with national wirehouses and institutions just beginning their due diligence. Drawing parallels with the rise of gold ETFs, which experienced year-after-year growth in net flows, he anticipates a similar trend for Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin Price Path Toward $250,000 In an intriguing projection, Hougan suggests that central banks will allocate funds to Bitcoin before the next Halving event. He notes that central banks have historically been significant investors in gold, accumulating substantial amounts of the metal.  However, with Bitcoin’s characteristics as non-debt money and its functional advantages over gold regarding payments and settlement, Hougan believes central banks will be increasingly drawn to Bitcoin. Hougan further noted on this matter: There is also an element of game theory here. A major central bank adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset would be a game-changer for Bitcoin and, I believe, would contribute to a dramatic increase in prices. Will one central bank try to front-run the others?  Related Reading: Solana Market Cap Skyrockets $11 Billion As Price Jumps 17% – Details Hougan’s final prediction revolves around Bitcoin’s price. He forecasts that Bitcoin will trade above $250,000 by 2028, an increase of nearly 280% from current levels.  The Bitwise CIO attributes Bitcoin’s previous exponential growth to its transition from a speculative asset to one with real-world utility.  Factors such as declining volatility, improved custody options, low correlations to traditional stocks, enhanced accessibility through ETFs, and growing institutional adoption all contribute to Hougan’s optimism regarding Bitcoin’s future progress. Hougan concluded by stating: With the ETFs launched and gathering assets—and major Wall Street firms lining up behind bitcoin—I suspect the asset will continue to move further into the mainstream. At $250,000, bitcoin would be a $5 trillion asset. Could it go higher? Of course. But $250,000 would represent solid progress between halvings, and I think we’ll see at least that. Currently trading at $64,500, BTC is down nearly 3% in the past 24 hours after retesting the $67,000 mark on Tuesday and failing to consolidate above that level.   Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

The European Central Bank is too busy attacking Bitcoin to worry about the myriad of real scams perpetrated by con artists in the industry.

The Shiba Inu ecosystem has been subjected to updates in the last few days as developers look to bolster the cryptocurrency’s prospects in the long term. Behind the scenes, on-chain data also reveals a bullish trend among SHIB investors, with the exchange balance dropping to new lows.  Adding to the bullish case is the fact that SHIB’s price has bounced right off the key 0.618 Fibonacci ratio level, otherwise known as the “golden ratio.” These metrics, in combination, are particularly setting up the stage for a price surge that could see SHIB surging in the current market cycle. Exchange Balances For SHIB Hit New Lows According to CryptoQuant’s SHIB analytics dashboard, the total SHIB reserve on crypto exchanges has been on a free fall for the majority of this year.  At the time of writing, the SHIB exchange reserve now stands at around 150 trillion tokens, compared to 164 trillion SHIB tokens on February 29. This means the total number of SHIB tokens in crypto exchange reserves has fallen by 14 trillion SHIB in less than two months. Related Reading: Analyst Says XRP Price Will Reach $100, But This Needs To Happen First The drop in exchange reserve is somewhat of a bullish indicator for SHIB, as it shows that holders are less liable to sell their coins and are instead opting instead to store them in private wallets. This outflow from exchanges has particularly been compounded in the last few weeks, with on-chain data revealing an increase in activity from Shiba Inu whales. An example is a recent accumulation of 237.8 billion SHIB tokens worth $6.9 million by a new whale address.  Furthermore, recent price action in recent months has seen the price of SHIB bouncing off the 0.618 Fibonacci ratio level on April 14th, setting up the stage for a golden ratio rebound. This is a key support level according to the Fibonacci tool, and the bounce indicated the start of a major uptrend. SHIB encountered this bounce on April 15 around the $0.00002117 price level after a correction of over 51% from its yearly high of $0.00004400.  Shiba Inu To $0.0001? At the time of writing, SHIB was trading at $0.00002702, up by 19% in the past seven days. Interestingly, the SHIB price has increased by over 27% since its bounce above the golden cross to confirm the crypto has fully reversed into a bullish sentiment. Related Reading: XRP Wallets Holding At Least 1 Million Coins Nears All-Time High As Sentiment Improves Fundamentals point to a continued SHIB price surge in the coming days amid mainstream interest and adoption. One of these is the recent $12 million investment raised by the Shiba Inu team to develop a layer-3 blockchain on top of Shibarium. With supply on exchanges diminishing and SHIB building surging after bouncing off a key Fibonacci level, the ingredients are in place for a rebound to $0.00004400 or higher. If SHIB can clear this resistance, it opens up a run toward $0.00008616, which would represent a 218% increase from today’s price. SHIB price sitting at $0.000026 | Source: SHIBUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Crypto News Flash, chart from Tradingview.com

Key on-chain metrics suggest a higher baseline for Bitcoin price now that the halving is complete.

Stacks has initiated the rollout of its Nakamoto upgrade introducing improvements to its Bitcoin layer two (L2) solution. The upgrade aims to bolster transaction speed and security, potentially revitalizing interest in Bitcoin’s extended capabilities. Stacks Initiates Nakamoto Upgrade, Targets Enhanced Bitcoin Scalability Stacks, an L2 protocol addressing Bitcoin’s scalability challenges and expanding its blockchain functionalities, […]

The crypto mixer allegedly handled $2 billion in unlawful transactions and facilitated $100 million in money laundering.

An expert in U.S. federal prisons suggested that the former Binance CEO, if sentenced to incarceration, could face the risk of “theft and extortion” from other inmates.

The fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price have marked the tempo of the crypto market and the community’s sentiment. While some feel pessimistic about the rally slowdown, some analysts believe the flagship cryptocurrency is just getting ready to reach higher notes. Related Reading: Is The Bitcoin Top Already Here? This Historical Pattern Says So Next Stop: Bitcoin’s “Parabolic Upside” Crypto analyst and trader Rekt Capital considers Bitcoin (BTC) is currently awaiting a period of consolidation. In an X post, the trader highlighted that, during the previous “Halvings,” BTC saw “Re-Accumulation Ranges.” The analyst shared his chart for Bitcoin phases during the “Halving,” which he has previously used to explain BTC was at the “Last Pre-Halving Retrace” before April 19. At the time, the analyst pointed out that the re-accumulation phase was next. Bitcoin went through one during the previous “Halving,” as seen in the chart. The re-accumulation consisted of two consolidation periods followed by the “Post-Halving Parabolic Upside,” which saw BTC reach last cycle’s all-time high (ATH) of $69,000. Bitcoin phases during the “Halving”. Source: Rekt Capital on X Rekt Capital highlighted that, during this cycle, the flagship cryptocurrency has already experienced five re-accumulation ranges. Similarly to the last cycle, the latest re-accumulation phase seems to have started during the “Pre-Halving Rally” phase. Per the analyst, this will be followed by the “Parabolic Upside” if history repeats itself. Analyst Mikybull seems to share a similar view to Rekt Capital’s, as he highlights that Bitcoin’s “parabolic rally is loading.” The re-accumulation breakout is set to be “explosive,” and “not many are prepared for this,” he added. The analyst explained that “the RSI on a macro scale is at the same level as it was in 2017, which was followed by a huge rally to cycle top.” Based on this, he believes the current consolidation comes from institutions preparing “for a huge rally to cycle top.” Analyst Sets Crucial Level For Bitcoin’s Breakout A day before Bitcoin’s “Halving,” the cryptocurrency faced a correction that shredded 7% of its price in a few hours. BTC went from hovering between the $64,000-$63,000 price range to trading below the $60,000 support zone. Since then, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization appears to have steadily recovered from the drop. Over the weekend, Bitcoin regained the $65,000 support level before testing the $66,000 one, which it reclaimed on Monday. Over the last few days, BTC has hovered between $66,000 and $67,000. However, it has not been able to successfully test the resistance level set at the $67,000 price range. According to the crypto analyst Bluntz, Bitcoin’s most recent performance suggests that the price will continue to move sideways between the $66,000 and the $67,000 range. However, he also considers that BTC is “gagging for a breakout soon,” as the chart displays a bullish pennant pattern forming. Per the analyst, “once we clear 67k,” the whole market will fly above the latest ATH. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $66,665, a 7.5% increase from a week ago and a 66.22% in the last three months. Related Reading: Standard Chartered Reaffirms $150,000 Bitcoin Price Target By Year-End Bitcoin’s performance in the weekly chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted the founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez, and William Lonergan Hill, on charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and laundering over $100 million through illicit transactions. DOJ Indicts Samourai Wallet Founders for Allegedly Operating $100 Million Crypto Laundering Ring According to the indictment unsealed by the Southern […]

Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto has singled out VeChain (VET) and XRP as two crypto tokens that could soon witness significant price surges. The analyst also outlined price targets crypto investors can expect these tokens to attain. VeChain Could Rise To As High As $2.5 From the chart Egrag shared in his X (formerly Twitter) post, one could see that he was hinting that VeChain hit $2.5 at its market peak. He also elaborated on how the crypto token will rise to that level by breaking its price action into three targets. The first target was the yellow channel, which he highlighted on the chart.  Related Reading: Ripple Vs. SEC Update: Is The Lawsuit Finally Coming To An End With A Settlement? Source: X VeChain is expected to rise to as high as $0.18 when this target is fully achieved. Egrag noted that this will mark the “forging of the MACRO-Bottom.” The second target will see the crypto token rise to almost $0.9. The analyst pointed out that this channel “aligns with the Fib 0.702 & 0.786 levels,” forming what he referred to as the “Mid-Bull-Cycle.” VeChain is expected to rise to as high as $2.5 when the last target is achieved. Egrag remarked that this target aligns with “key Fib levels 1.236, 1.414, & 1.618, suggesting the potential cycle top for #VET.” This isn’t the first time the crypto analyst has laid a bullish narrative for the VeChain token.  In February, he predicted that the crypto token could witness a 140x price increase if it repeats its price action from around 2021 when it rose by 14.638%.  XRP Run To $1.4 Still In Play Egrag provided his bullish analysis of XRP in a separate X post. He stated that the crypto token’s double formation was giving a “strong bullish signal.” He added that he is confident that the “thrust will soon.” This recent analysis was an update to a previous one where he predicted that XRP would rise to $1.4 soon enough.  Source: X  Back then, he was also confident that this move to the upside was imminent, noting that the bulls had accumulated all the XRP tokens that the bears had dumped. He urged XRP holders to “stay steady” in anticipation of the life-changing opportunities that may arise due to the crypto token’s parabolic surge.  Related Reading: Ethereum Resurgence: TRON Founder Justin Sun Goes On 127,388 ETH Buying Spree Egrag has remained bullish on the XRP token despite its unimpressive price action. He has predicted at different times that the crypto token could rise to as high as $27 at its market top.  At the time of writing, XRP is trading at around $0.54, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. VET price at $0.04 | Source: VETUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Watcher Guru, chart from Tradingview.com

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disavowed a letter that allegedly instructed financial institutions to sever ties with four global cryptocurrency exchanges. The central bank stated that the letter did not originate from its office and recommended that individuals interested in “authentic updates” refer to its official website. Fake Content The Central Bank of […]

After enjoying record profits during Bitcoin’s recent halving, miners now face a sharp decline in hash prices.

On-chain data shows the new whale entrants in the Bitcoin market now hold almost twice as much as the veterans. Here’s what could be behind this shift. Bitcoin Newbie Whale Holdings Have Been Rapidly Growing Recently In a new post on X, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju has discussed about how the holdings of the new whales compares against the old ones in the market right now. Related Reading: Is The Bitcoin Top Already Here? This Historical Pattern Says So The on-chain indicator of interest here is the “Realized Cap,” which, in short, keeps track of the total amount of capital that the investors have used to purchase their Bitcoin. This capitalization model is in contrast to the usual market cap, which simply measures the total value that the holders as a whole are carrying based on the current spot price. In the context of the current topic, the Realized Cap of the entire market isn’t of interest, but rather specifically that of two segments: the short-term holder whales and long-term holder whales. Whales are defined as entities on the network who are holding at least 1,000 BTC in their balance. At the current exchange rate, this amount is worth $66.6 million, so the whales are clearly quite massive holders. Because of these large holdings, these investors can hold some influence in the market. Based on holding time, the whales can be subdivided into two categories. The short-term holder (STH) whales are those who acquired their coins within the past 155 days, while the long-term holder (LTH) whales have been holding since longer than this timespan. Now, here is the chart shared by Ju that reveals the Realized Cap breakdown between these two Bitcoin whale cohorts: Looks like the metric has shot up for the STH whales recently | Source: @ki_young_ju on X As is visible in the above graph, the Realized Cap of the STH whales has historically not been too different from that of the LTH whales, but that appears to have changed recently. The metric has pulled away for these new whales this year with some very sharp growth, as its value has now reached the $110.6 billion mark. This means that the STH whales have collectively bought their coins at an initial investment of a whopping $110.6 billion. The Realized Cap of the LTH whales, on the other hand, has continued its usual trajectory, floating around $66.9 billion currently. This means that there is now a massive gap between the indicator for these two cohorts. But what’s the reason behind the sudden emergence of this brand-new trend? As mentioned before, the STH cutoff stands at 155 days, which means that the Realized Cap of the STH whales would signify the total value of the purchases made by the whales over the last five months. In the past five months, there has been one event in particular that has stood out, which has also never been present in any of the prior cycles: the approval of the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The spot ETFs provide an alternative mode of investment into the asset through a means that’s familiar to traditional investors. These funds have been bringing in some unprecedented demand into BTC and as their holdings also fall under the 155 days mark, they would count as STH whales. Related Reading: Ethereum To See Fresh Move Soon? What Futures Data Says Bitcoin has also been rallying this year, so all this new investment would have had to purchase at relatively high prices, thus causing the Realized Cap, which correlates to direct capital flows, to inflate even further. BTC Price Bitcoin is now trading at $66,400 after witnessing a surge of more than 6% over the past week. The price of the asset seems to have been overall consolidating sideways recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Todd Cravens on Unsplash.com, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com